In the Matter of Creation of Supreme Court Rule 40.075
Relating to Conditional Admission to the Bar.

FILED

AUG 3, 2009

David R. Schanker

Clerk of Supreme Court

Madison, WI

On May 1, 2008, the Board of Bar Examiners (BBE) filed
a petition requesting this court create a supreme court rule pertaining to
conditional admission to the bar.The
proposed new rule would allow applicants with issues such as substance abuse
problems, mental health conditions, financial management difficulties, or
criminal history, to be admitted conditionally to the State Bar of Wisconsin
(State Bar) under terms and conditions established by the BBE.

Written comments were received regarding this petition
from State Bar President Diane Diel on behalf of the State Bar, Attorney Steven
Levine, Attorney William Weigel, and Attorney Daniel L. Shneidman.The State Bar advised the court it opposed
the petition solely because the petition submitted to the court did not contain
a provision that would ensure the confidentiality of a conditional admission.

A public hearing was conducted on March 9, 2009.That day, the Office of Lawyer Regulation
(OLR) filed a letter advising the court the Board of Administrative Oversight
had voted to oppose the petition because the monitoring program for conditional
admission has not yet been established.The OLR and the State Bar have filed a joint rule petition proposing
such a monitoring program.See
Rule No. 08-28, In the Matter of the Petition for Lawyer Support and
Monitoring and Procedures for Referrals from the Office of Lawyer Regulation,
filed December 29, 2008, by Keith Sellen, OLR Director, and Diane Diel,
State Bar President.

The court discussed the petition at the ensuing open
administrative conference.First, the
court decided to discuss the petition notwithstanding the pending petition to
establish a monitoring program.The
court then considered the proposal and discussed the ABA Model Rule on
Conditional Admission to Practice Law as well as Minnesota's conditional admission rule,
Minnesota Rule Bar Admission 16.The
court discussed whether conditional admission should be confidential and
concluded that confidentiality is appropriate because the public is adequately
protected by oversight mechanisms in the proposed rule.The court also discussed various other
aspects of the proposed rule.However,
after further consideration, the court has decided to hold this matter pending
consideration of the monitoring program petition (No. 08-28, In the Matter
of the Petition for Lawyer Support and Monitoring and Procedures for Referrals
from the Office of Lawyer Regulation). Therefore,

IT IS ORDERED that the petition for creating a supreme
court rule pertaining to conditional admission to the bar is held in abeyance
and will be considered along with the petition currently pending before this
court in Rule No. 08-28, In the Matter of the Petition for Lawyer Support
and Monitoring and Procedures for Referrals from the Office of Lawyer
Regulation, which will be scheduled for hearing and open administrative
conference at a date to be determined in the fall of 2009.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that notice of the issuance of
this order be given by a single publication of a copy of this order in the
official state newspaper and in an official publication of the State Bar of
Wisconsin.